Overview
- A masked driver drove onto the grounds of the Nanterre penitentiary and set a car ablaze at the main gate on Tuesday, and firefighters put out the fire so no one was injured.
- Surveillance footage reviewed by authorities shows the arsonist leaving the vehicle and fleeing on foot, and a prison source told reporters the car was stolen.
- The Parquet de Nanterre opened an investigation and gave the case to the police judiciaire des Hauts-de-Seine, with prosecutors including a charge that allows treating the act as destruction of property carried out by an organized group using dangerous means.
- Penitentiary unions strongly condemned the attack as a direct threat to staff and Gérald Darmanin publicly voiced support for prison personnel, highlighting fears about staff safety and institutional security.
- The suspect remains at large, motives are not established, and investigators are probing reports of possible accomplices while the next steps to watch are any identifications, arrests, or formal links to organized groups.